Clocktower Vertigo
by TheDarkFlygon
Summary: It sounded like a lovely outting between friends. The clocktower is so pretty... That is, until you notice your friend doesn't seem to be doing too well. And so begin some weird shenanigans you never thought would happen. (Or in short: Kaede and Shuichi are totally-not-on-a-date and, since it's me we're talking about, one of them falls ill, 'cause shippy sickfics are my life.)
1. You, I and the Clocktower

Your name is Kaede Akamatsu.  
You're a freshman in a fancy, prestigious high school.  
Well, you would say that if you were in class. But this is Saturday afternoon, and it's freetime!

Of course, you spend it with your best friend, Shuichi Saihara.  
Who's totally not super cute and totally not super adorable and totally not the SHSL Cutiepie.  
At least, according to your opinion.

You decided you would spend the afternoon together to forget a bit about classes and homework and piano pratices.  
Not that you don't like playing it, or that he doesn't like listening to you playing it, or that you don't like playing it for him.

You were going downtown when you saw this really pretty clocktower.  
You asked him for his opinion, and he agreed to visit it with you.  
After all, you had all the afternoon ahead of you.

He seems to be a little cold.  
You look at the sky to see if the weather has changed so badly.  
Black clouds are approaching fast.  
You grab his arm and you rush with him inside to be safe from the upcoming pouring rain.

Once inside and at the summit, you see how bad the weather has turned.  
A full-fledge thunderstorm is now raging outside.  
You're both soaked despite spending so little time under the rain.  
You dry yourself up as well as you can, and so does he.

It gets a bit awkward as you just look silently at the rain, trying to guess when it's going to calm down.  
But at least, you're together, and that's all that matters.

"Saihara," you ask him, "can you also guess when the rain could calm down?"  
He looks on the side.  
"I'm a detective," he replies, "not a meteorologist Akamatsu... Sorry..."  
You put your hands on your hips.  
"That's alright! At least we're safe from this flood in here!"

He sneezes. His embarrassed look is so cute.  
"Make a wish!"

You were about to giggle when you notice he seems dazey.  
"Hey, is everything alright? You seem a bit shaken... I didn't shake you too bad, did I?!"  
You're feeling a bit bad now...

He shakes his head in a no.  
"It's okay Akamatsu, it's nothing big. I think I'm just a little tired"  
He does have dark rings under his eyes.  
"You want us to come back to the dorm? I may have an umbrella in my bag...  
You clutch your bag as soon as possible to search your salvator in there.

He shakes his arms around awkwardly.  
"It's okay Akamatsu! I'm totally fine!"  
He sneezes twice in a row and you're really starting to wonder if he hasn't caught something.

You clutch your umbrella and put your bag back on your back.  
"You're sure of that? You're a bit pale, Saihara..."  
When you get closer to him, he steps back, and you have to stop getting nearer if you don't want him to fall in the stairs by accident.

You stand there, creeped out but worried.  
Something is really off with him today.

"What's wrong Saihara?" you ask, trying to get an answer to your worries.  
He coughes in his sleeve and clears his throat.  
"I'm just a bit tired, that's it... L... Let's go back to the dorm, please..."

You grab him by the arms when he isn't focusing too much on you and put him as gently as you can on the other side of the flight of stairs.  
Only then do you grab his arm and bring him outside, this time sharing the umbrella with you.  
He's shivering and you feel so compelled to squeeze him to heat him up, but for now, you have a roof to hold over both of your heads.

The way home is silent. He looks at the ground and you look at him.  
The only sounds are the rain, your footsteps crunching rocks on the path and his occasional coughing.  
You absolutely hate one of them, and it doesn't sound like you not to be upbeat.

The road is so, so long when you're both quiet, even if you try to ignore his cackling teeth.  
It's not so cold around here. It's raining, but the air is quite warm for the season and you can't help but wonder if you're just not as soaked as him or if it's something else.

"Hey, huh... Saihara?"  
"Y-y-yeah...?"  
"Is everything okay? You're shivering quite a lot... You want my jacket?"  
"N-n-no, it's fine... Keep it, you're gonna c-c-catch a c-c-cold..."  
Sure, as if you were the one sick.

You get closer to him, and now there isn't even one inch separating you.  
Usually this kind of closeness would make you at least a bit uncomfortable, but you know it's for a good reason you do it.  
Not that you mind of course.

He clutches his cap, but you know he's blushing.  
You are too, but you don't have anything to hide it anyway.  
"A-Akamatsu, i-it's not... Needed..." he whispers, shakier than ever.  
"Shush, you're cold, so I'm warming you up. I've heard that penguins to it all the time!"  
He doesn't add anything else. He must not mind as much as he's pretending to do.


	2. Disease of the Hot Rain

You arrive a bit too late in your taste back at the school, and as soon as you have a roof over your head, you close your umbrella.  
He barely notices he doesn't have your pink umbrella over his head.  
You tell yourself he must be beyond unwell for not noticing such a thing when he's the Ultimate Detective.

"Hey, huh... Saihara?" you call him out.  
He just goes forward, getting closer to the wall, as if he didn't hear you.  
You follow him, worried he may not be able to make it to his room.  
And soon enough, you actually get past him. He's walking so slowly...  
He doesn't notice you, so you take the chance to examine quickly how he's physically doing.

He has a hand on the wall and the other one on his face, as he doesn't really walk. It's closer to baby steps when you think about it.  
You finally notice he's shades paler than usual with red flushing his face.  
Somehow, you still want to believe he isn't what you think he is, but it's getting downright impossible.  
His legs are shaky and you're afraid they could break under their own weight.

You can't stand such a tragedy anymore and you come in front of him.  
He barely tilts his head in your direction when you prop him on your shoulder.  
There's a lack of reaction you don't appreciate at all.

He finally shows some and, as he coughs, he finally tells you something.  
"Akamatsu... What are you..."  
"You're barely able to walk! Let me help you!"  
"But..."  
"There's no but!"

You can hear the pouring rain on the windows of the dorm corridors as you reach the bedrooms.  
You feel him getting heavier and heavier, and you wonder what's wrong.  
Well, what's worse, before you know perfectly what's wrong.

It continues until you almost lose your balance. As if you knew, you turn your gaze towards him.  
His eyes are closed, and his breathing is shallow.  
You gather up the most strength you can get and keep on.

You need to keep him awake.  
"Saihara?"  
"Y-yeah...?" he barely replies.  
"You think you gonna make it to your room?"  
"Yeah..."

You're not even sure if he hears what you're saying.  
"Huh... I know your throat is probably a desert by now, but... Can you speak? I don't want you to fall asleep now..."  
"Yeah..."  
He doesn't get what you're saying.

He gets himself up by using the wall as support.  
You've finally arrived to his room.  
"I... I can do it Akamatsu..." he tells you, but you're not buying it. At all.

He then prompty collapse and you barely catch him in his fall.  
He indeed passed out.

You're kind of panicking right now.  
But once you got yourself together, you gently sat him on the ground and find his room key.  
Once you've gotten inside, you gently put him on the bed.  
All you need to do now is get a nurse.


	3. Mess in My Head

The nurse has done quite the job you wouldn't have been able to do without getting flustered.  
That includes strip him down to make his clothes dry.

You think it's the first time that you've seen him without his hat.  
Instead, he has a wet washcloth.  
You didn't even know he had an ahoge on his head.

His cap is sitting on the nightstand as you pull out a chair and sit next to the bed.  
At least, he's not in the rain anymore.

You can't get the discussion with the nurse out of your head.  
"What did he catch?" you asked.  
"I'm not sure," she replied, "but I think it's a bad strain of flu. He should be fine by the end of the week."  
The nurse herself wasn't sure.

It doesn't help you feel less worried. You're still afraid for his well-being.  
The picture of the thermometer beeping is stuck in your mind with no way to get rid of it.  
Such a high number... You still hope it was some kind of peak.

You can't help but feel bad.  
He must have caught it from the rain, so from your outting.  
It's your fault, and you feel like you're about to cry because you're that worried and that guilty.  
You hear a cough as you retain your tears back in your eyes.

He opens up his eyes with a bit of difficulty, and you can only guess it's because the light hurts them.  
"Ghn... You're awake...!" you hear yourself whisper.  
May he be as dazey as before and not notice your wet eyes.  
He stirs and looks at you, only to then try to get up.

You just watch him, sure he'll stay comfortably in his bed after what happened.  
Which is why you get surprised when he looks like he's getting up from said bed.

You react immediately, as you get up and grab his arms.  
"Are you crazy Saihara?! You're really sick! Stay in bed!"  
He looks at you with deadfish eyes.

He giggles and then whispers to himself:  
"Must kill Monokumas... Fuck you Junko..."  
What is he even saying?  
You're utterly confused and you can't stop wondering what absurdity he's going to spew out next.  
"We need to do it... For hope..."  
Do what? For hope? What hope?!

"Hey, Saihara," you ask him while barely retaining a confused chuckle, "what the hell are you trying to say?!"  
He loses his smirk and his eyes seem to regain a bit more life.  
At least, you think you see that before he falls on you again.  
You put him back to bed gently.  
He focuses his eyes on you at least.

"A.. Akamatsu? Is that you...?"  
You can't help but sigh.  
"Yeah, that's me. What happened? You started to tell me nonsense about 'Monokumas' and hope!"  
He looks at you with a puzzled look.  
"I don't know what you're talking about..."

"B-but, you told me about it!"  
It takes a while for you to guess what this is actually about.  
"What kind of fever is this?!"  
He cough-giggles.  
"Haa... I dunno... I swore I was asleep before you put me in bed..."

"You scared me so bad!" you sigh.  
You then proceed to check something by yourself.  
You take off the washcloth and put your hand on his forehead.  
It feels so very warm, and maybe it was because your hand was cold before, but it feels burning under your skin.

"I wonder how you were even standing earlier!"  
"Huh... I guess I wasn't feeling that bad before..."

You look at him, doubting.  
"You're sure about that, Saihara?"  
He's about to reply when he gets into a coughing fit.  
How he was able to walk earlier is beyond you.

You can't give him medicine, the nurse has forbidden you from doing so.  
You wonder what you can do to help him feel a bit better.  
And instead of being useful, you just apologize.  
"I'm... I'm so, so sorry Saihara... It's because of me and my stupid idea you got that sick... I... I wish that didn't happen..."

He looks at you, embarrassed. He clears up his throat.  
"It's... It's not your fault Akamatsu..."  
"What tells you it's not my responsibility? We should have stayed inside like you said..."  
"I was already sick."

You blink. Something is so surprising you're not even sure if it's not you misunderstanding what he says because his voice is hoarse.  
"Wait, what?!"  
"I wanted to stay inside because I wasn't feeling so great... That's all..."  
He coughs and you're still trying to process the information.  
"So you're saying you knew you weren't feeling well...? I should have noticed!"  
You feel incredibly dumb.

His face softens into a small smile.  
"Sorry for not lasting very long... It got worse all of a sudden... I'm... I'm really sorry too..."  
It upsets you.  
"Why the hell are you sorry?! You're sick! Sick people rest, they don't go on clocktower adventures! It's completely fine!"  
You soften your voice.  
"Don't worry, I'll try my best to make you feel better."

You don't know many ways you can do so, but you have an idea.  
"Wait for me, I need to get something from my room!"


	4. Honey Sonata

Of course, your plan of action is obviously obvious.  
You get your small piano from your room.  
He seems surprised when you get in his room with it.

"Huh... What are you doing with a piano...?"  
"You're a detective, guess yourself!"  
You install it in the room.

You sit in front of the piano and wink at him. He sits up, curious.  
You bust out your favourite soft songs partitions. "Clair de Lune" goes first.  
You're too busy playing to look at him, but it feels weird not to hear him hum along for once.  
It's kind of sad really.

Once the song is over, you look at him.  
He's still conscious, and clapping his hands.

He smiles at you.  
"I can't really sing or hum or anything, but... I'm so happy..."  
You feel like doing an encore and you bust out another soft partition.  
His smile agrees with you.  
And so you play again, and you do hear a faint humming in between some coughs.  
You don't mind at all.

You're torn between encouraging this encouragement and telling him to spare his voice.  
Eventually you just hear coughing and you stop playing to check up on him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" you almost scream, panicked and worried.  
He's trapped in a fit, but he clearly points out his throat then the tissue box on his nightstand.  
You take a tissue in a hurry, and to your disgust, he spits in the tissue.

"Erh..." He clears his throat. "Sorry for that mess..."  
"I... It's okay...! I got scared you were gonna cough up a lung!" you confess.  
"It's not that bad, ha..!"

You mechanically hold his hand as his breathing calms down.  
You give it a gently squeeze because it's how people support each other in movies.  
He doesn't mind it seems.  
You just hope it gets better soon...

"Huh, so..." you say out of the blue.  
"Hmm...?"  
"You like tea?" you ask

He smiles gently.  
"Yeah..."  
"Then I'll make you some! Stay here, I'm taking care of everything!"

You go to the cafeteria to grab some tea bags, two cups, honey and go take care of that.  
It takes a bit of time, and you hope he doesn't get worse meanwhile.  
Once the tea is finished, you bring it as carefully as you can back to his room.  
That tray was pretty cute.

With all the care in the world, you bring it to him and put it on the nightstand.  
He seems no worse than before, phew!

You hand him his teacup.  
"I hope you like this flavour, it's supposed to calm you down..."  
He takes it in his hands, but not before you put a towel under it so he wouldn't burn himself.  
And so you drink tea together, careful that he doesn't spill his cup in himself when he coughs and that the cup shakes.

"Akamatsu, can I ask you something...?"  
"Yeah?"  
"It was really sweet at the end... Why?"  
You smirk. It seems like his detective abilities fail him a bit when he's sick.

"It's because I didn't mix my honey well! It's honey!"  
"Honey? But why...?"  
"Because it smoothes your throat! You sound so pained when you cough, I thought it was only natural to include it in there..."

He looks at the teacup, with a slight smile on his face.  
"Thank you, Akamatsu..."  
"You're welcome!"


	5. In the Dark of the Night

The day came to an end, and after an evening checkup, you're back to your room for the night.  
Are the walls soundproof? You hope not, for once.  
You're barely asleep when you hear someone knock viciously at your door.

You go to peek through the door.  
In front of you, Saihara.  
At least, you think it's him in the semi-darkness of the night.

He falls in your arms as soon as you open the door.  
"Huh..?"  
His face falls on yours.

More exactly, his lips fall on yours.

His fall continues to your arms, when you notice his bare arms burning under his skin.  
You drag him to your room and close the door.  
You then turn on your phone to see more without blinding him.  
He's still conscious, and he's even more flushed than before according to your own detective skills.

"What's wrong...?" you whisper to him.

"I.. I had a nightmare..."  
He sobs and coughs at the same time.  
If you ever thought you would see him like this in your life...  
You put him on your bed and press your forehead against his.  
He's as feverish as you expected.

"You have such a high fever... What kind of nightmares?"  
"A... A strange bear... K-killed us... B-but you f-first..."

He's in tears and you wish you could help him soothen.  
Out of solutions, you just hug him.  
He takes shelter in your arms as he cries his heart out.  
You just rub his back, hoping it does something.

You feel his breathing calm down and his sobs disappear after time.  
He seems to calm down considerably.  
"It's fine... I'm here. I'm alive. You're alive. I'm here for you. Everything's fine, Saihara."

He finally looks at you directly in the eyes.  
"K... Kaede... Thank goodness..."  
You don't even know how to react.

He falls asleep in your arms before you can add anything.  
Oh well, you'll just sleep with him tonight.  
Your bed is large enough for two, right?

And so you fall back asleep, this time with company.

* * *

A few hours later, you feel like you're being cluched, squeezed, hugged tightly.  
Your barely open eyes go wide when you realize he's having another nightmare.

You just sigh gently as you try to calm him down again.  
You decide to rub his hair in an attempt to do the same than in that one film you saw once.  
You try your best, at least.

Once again, his sobs and whimpers calm down.  
He feels and sounds so fragile, you can't help but feel bad.  
Poor guy got the fever of his life.

"Hey, Saihara... I'm sure you can do it. It's temporary. I'm here for you."  
His breathing gets steadier.

You're holding him so close that you can sense his heartbeat.  
His sleep is finally peaceful, and soon enough, you drift off too.


	6. Sunday Morning, Lazy Morning

When you wake up, it's to your usual Sunday alarm, 9AM.  
He doesn't seem to hear it as he's still sound asleep in your arms.

You don't feel like waking him up, so you try to put him as gently as possible in your bed.  
You have a teacup to brew.

You put your hand on his forehead.  
His fever went down considerably.  
You sigh in relief.  
You let him continue his night as you go to the cafeteria and get some tea brewed.

When you come back, this time around having paid attention to mixing the honey decently, you find him confused on your bed, searching for something.  
"Oh, good morning Saihara!" you say as you enter your room.

"Ah, Akamatsu. Have you seen my cap anywhere?"

You put the tea on the nightstand.  
"Huh... Now that I think about it, you weren't wearing your cap last night. You probably left it in your room."

His eyes grow wide.  
"Le... Let me get it..."  
He looks at himself before blushing.  
"And dress myself properly again..."

You grab his arm.  
"Huh... I made you some tea... Mind taking a sip?"  
Actually you just don't want to leave him alone, or more exactly, on his own.

"Uh... Lemme dress up before... That's embarrassing..."  
You giggle to yourself because you know his cap has fallen when he came in and that you hid it.

He still goes to wear his typical clothes, now all dried up.  
And he gets astonished when he sees you with his cap on.

"W-what are you doing with it Akamatsu...?"  
He coughs lightly.  
"Can you give it back to me?" he asks.  
"Maybe!"

He blushes.  
"Take it back from me Saihara!"  
Of course, you're not really running away from him. That's wouldn't be fair with a sick man.

He finally catches it and puts it on.  
"Akamatsu, could you tell me why I woke up in your room half dressed...?"  
Oh dear.

"Huh, it's that... You came to my room crying and so I let you sleep in here..."  
He blinks.  
"That... Happened...?"  
"Yeah! It was weird, but oh well... I didn't mind. You had a bad nightmare, so it was only normal! At least you feel better today!"  
You smile, he has a soft and small smile too, it feels great to see him free of any suffering.

"A nightmare? Sorry for bothering with that..."  
"You're sick Saihara! You don't need to feel sorry for searching for help!"  
"But then... Where did you sleep...?"  
"...With you..."

He almost spits out his tea.  
"Wait what?!"  
"Don't scream, your throat is still itchy and weak! I can explain... Somewhat..."  
You take a deep breath.  
"Well... You knocked at my door in the middle of the night, and you fell in my arms... You were crying so I tried to calm you down... And since

you fell asleep in my arms, I just let you sleep with me in bed... Also you called me by my first name at one point and that very cute..."  
He's redder than ever now.

"I-I did that...?!"  
"You... You also fell on my lips if you want to know..."  
"What?!"

He hides his face with his cap as you laugh it off.  
"It was an accident, you were tired and feverish, it's no issue!"  
There is another reason why it's not an issue, but that's for later.

He scratches the back of his head, embarrassed, as you smile to him.  
"Everything's okay if you get better, Saihara!"  
He looks away, then at you.  
"Akamatsu... You mind if I call you by your first name from now on...?"  
"Then I have to call you by your first name too!" you shout, excited down below.  
You wink.  
"Right, Shuichi?"  
"Sure, Kaede..."


	7. Stop Apologizing!

So you are both standing in your room on a Sunday morning.  
Last night really was wild.

"So, huh... What do you plan to do on today?" You ask.  
"I don't know yet... Maybe work on this case. I'm late on that" He replies  
You pinch his cap.  
"Of course! No, you rest when you're sick!"

You cross your arms and he looks away.  
"I'm fine, Akamatsu..."  
"It's Kaede!"  
"I'm fine, K-Kaede, I swear..."  
"Sure, your fever has went down, but it may go up again if you do stupid stuff instead of resting! So rest! I'm here for you anyway..."

You get night flashbacks.  
What a shame he doesn't remember what happened.

He puts a hand on his forehead and you get scared as soon as you notice it.  
"Hey, what's wrong?!"  
"I... I feel a bit dizzy... I'm going back to sleep..."

He gets up, lays on your wall for support and slowly makes his way to his room.  
You decide to follow him.  
He does eventually reach his room, but as soon as he opens the door, he falls to the ground, sitting next to the wall.

"Shuichi, you're okay?!" you scream as you kneel next to him.  
"C-could be better..."  
He coughs and, at one point, spits again on the ground.  
It's gross, but you look at it anyway. It's not any red at all at least.

You press your forehead against his, and guess why you thought his fever had went down.  
Your hands were warm to begin with.

You slowly put him on his bed, hearing his breathing go haywire again.  
Why can't this end?

Once he's in there, you rush to the infirmary, scared for his life and as worried as you were yesterday.  
That mess isn't okay.

* * *

Huh, so it was some weird name in -is in the end.  
At least, with the appropriate medicine, he should get better.  
You woke up the late sleepers and made the nurse wonder what the hell was up on a Sunday.

But being scolded wasn't important at all when he was in danger.  
You feel blue, and wish this never happens again.

"Akamatsu...?"

He looks at you with half-open eyes.  
His cap is once again on the nightstand.

"You seem sad..." He says in a whisper.  
"Don't cry..." He adds.  
You whipe away your eyes.  
"Sorry... It's just that... You scared me so badly..."  
You just realize you've been holding his hand all along.  
"Hey... It's fine, Kaede... I'll be alright..."

You can't help but try to smile. You're not the sick one.  
"Maybe you should wear a mask..." He says. "I don't want to get you sick..."

"Oh, right!"  
You go get your face mask in your room, mainly so he doesn't worry and that you don't have to switch roles.  
That would be a shame.

You come back to his side, and he seems reassured you are wearing this mask.  
You feel lucky you still had one.

"You seem so sad lately... What's wrong...?" he asks.  
"Oh, huh... Guess it concerns you too..."  
"What do you mean...?"  
"I... I'm so worried for you!"

His face softens.  
"You... You shouldn't be... It'll be okay..."  
"But what if it doesn't turn out like that? I've seen you spew out nonsense and cry your heart out because of a vivid nightmare! Of course I'm

worried, and I'll worry until you're healthy again!"

"It... It was one nightmare... We all get those once in a while..."  
"You've had two of those in one night! This isn't normal!"  
"What were they about...?"  
"I think we were both dying, but mine impacted you more... You seemed so... So broken..."  
You barely hold back your own sorrow.

"Broken...?"  
"Yeah... You were so... Fragile... Like if I hugged you too tightly you would shatter..."  
"It's that bad...?"  
You softly nod.  
"You were in such pain, I didn't know what to do... So I just let you hold me and cry on my shoulder..."

He seems worried himself.  
"I... I'm sorry, Kaede... I shouldn't have dragged you in there..."  
"Stop apologizing dammit! It's not in your control! It's never been under your control! I wish you would just rest and let me worry so someone

can help you through this!"  
He's startled. You have to calm down.

"I... You know how much I hate it when you start to depreciate yourself, Shuichi... I wish I wouldn't tell you that again and again and

again... I'm so scared for you, and I want you to be happy... I just want you to heal and recover... I don't care how, but I want to support

you through that... I want not to be on the side, powerless, while you suffer..."  
You're definitely crying.

"I don't... Suffer... It's just not so good, you know..."  
"Dont play on words, I see how you are!"  
You clench the fist who doesn't hold his hand by now.

"You can't say you're just not good... I know it, you know it... But at least, I can try to ease it for you if I know how you're really

doing... I just don't want to see you cry anymore..."  
You don't even know if your words make sense, and feel like you're just repeating yourself.

"It's just an illness..."  
"Bronchitis is serious you know!"

He's even more startled  
You're not good at keeping your calm.  
"Don't try to make it less serious to reassure me..."  
"Sorry..."

"Argh stop apologizing! Just tell me if you don't feel well next time! I feel like you may not even be able to breath!"  
Maybe you're very

frustrated right now.

You decide you can't do any good in your current mood.  
You get up.  
"I'm going to get some food."  
And you leave without adding a word.


	8. I'll Drive my Piano into your Heart

When you said, "I'm going to get something to eat", you didn't really know if you meant only for you or for both of you.  
It's only after a bit you realized he hadn't eaten in two days or so that you decide to put your frustration aside and take him some food.  
Better that than him staggering to the cafeteria.

And so here you are, your breakfast on the table (since everybody else already left to do other stuff) and his on a tray next to you.  
May nobody ask why you're literally-but-not-really eating for two.

Breakfast is... Lonely. Usually you would hang out with your classmates, especially Shuichi (what a surprise), but now, you have the whole

cafeteria for you and you alone.  
At least, you can take off your mask for a bit, and you're not against that.

You eat faster than usual, since you have nobody to chat to.  
The tray in your hands, you're careful not to spill the bowl of tea and especially this sweet orange juice glass.  
According to some, it's a remedy.

Back at his room, you find out that he has fallen asleep.  
Ah, maybe you didn't expect him not to be able to drink that perfect orange juice of yours.

You decide to leave the tray on his nightstand and cover the bowl with a towel so it doesn't get cold.  
The orange juice can wait.  
As such, you sit down, and your piano still there.  
Maybe you'll practice for a bit, just not actually pressing the keys.

It feels weird to play the piano without actually playing it, but outside of that, everything is fine.  
Silence is fine. If it means he can rest, it's fine.

The lack of sounds, except for his light snoring (probably because of a congested noise), is comfortable.  
Yeah, everything is calm and fine.  
Waiting isn't so bad when you practice.

After a while, you hear the light snoring stop.  
It's only now that you notice you've actually been pressing the keys as you were too focused on your practice.  
Oops.

You feel a gentle hand on your shoulder. You tilt your head, and you know you woke him up.  
"Oh, huh, sorry for the piano Shuichi... I pressed keys without noticing...!"

He smiles.  
"You didn't wake me up, you were already playing before that..."  
You decide to believe him.  
He must have understood not to lie to you to make you happy.

"Huh, also... This tray is for me?" he asks.  
"Of course! I hope the tea didn't get cold while you were asleep..."  
You get up from the piano as he sits down on the bed, the tray next to him.  
You still hope he likes this one tea flavor and this orange juice and this brand of yogurts.

"Thanks for the breakfast!"  
"No need to thank me! You must be hungry by now..."  
He doesn't seem to mind the flavor of tea you picked, phew!  
Of course, you didn't forget about your touch of honey.

You don't even know if it's of any use, but who cares, it must do a little something nice.  
Maybe he's a coffee addict and he hates tea and drinks it to please her.  
No, no, don't think about that.

"Maybe you wanted coffee instead..." you think out loud.  
He faces you, blinking.  
"I don't mind tea you know... I'm not working too much anyway lately..."  
Maybe you should have made honey milk instead. You once read a shoujo where it worked wonders.

It seems like you made decent breakfast choices.  
It lifts up such a weight off your chest.

"You feel any better, Shuichi?"  
"Yeah... My throat itches less at least"  
To prove his point, he coughed.  
Okay, maybe that wasn't to prove any point.

"You're sure about that?"  
"Pretty much. I wish I was all healed up, but we both know it'll take some time"  
"I'm sure everything'll be fine if you follow the nurses' instructions... Speaking of which, you should take your morning meds!"  
You thought about that when you saw these on the desk.  
"Oh, right!"  
He's about to get up, but you put an arm in front of him, surpising him as you get up yourself.  
"I'll get them for you!"

You follow the nurse's instructions, which she left on a note next to the few boxes of medicine, as carefully as you both can.  
There's not as much of them as you expected there to be.  
Some of these are grossing him out, and so you hand him the glass of orange juice.  
He happily accepts your offer every time around.

It takes a few minutes to go down all the medicine stack, but he manages to do it.  
You hope it'll help his fever go down definitely and prevent him a few nightmares.

He does seem to be better than earlier: at least, there is no falling down in the corridor.  
He yawns, and you decide you should let him sleep more.  
"Let's call it a morning, Shuichi. You need to rest, I'll check on you later!"

As you get up, you feel a hand grab your arm.  
"Huh... It's that, uh... Can you play a bit more piano for me please...?"  
You can't resist his blushy face and puppy eyes.  
"Sure..."  
You sit back at the piano, take some of your favorite musics, and play it right after.

You get a bit surprised when he takes a chair and sits next to you.  
Once again, you don't mind his occasional coughing, and sometimes he even changes sheets for you.  
Ah, such a good afternoon.

He also occasionally yawn, and about one hour later, he's asleep on the chair.  
You put him back to bed gently not to wake him up, and also take his temperature with the thermometer left on the nightstand.  
38.9 degrees huh. It's far lower than yesterday's horrible beeping noise.

You also kiss his forehead (because _reasons_ ) before putting back the washcloth.  
It's with your heart at peace and with butterflies in your stomach that you leave his room.


	9. What's Bound to Happen Always Happens

Last night was strangely peaceful. Maybe too peaceful.  
Because today is Monday, and you kind of forgot you weren't supposed to be a nurse on school days.

When you get to the cafeteria before class, you get surprise to see Shuichi waving at you from one of the tables.  
Curious, you go to his table after you filled your tray with a bowl of cereals and, of course, a glass of orange juice.

"Good morning Kaede!"  
His voice is cheerful yet awfully hoarse.  
Seems like the syrups didn't make it better.  
"Good morning Shuichi!" you greet him back as you sit up in front of him.

"How are you?" you ask him, a bit worried about his voice.  
"I'm doing -kof- fine... And you...?"  
He gets small coughing fits pretty easily.

After an akward silence installed, you decide to get up and give him a little something you thought about before.  
Yeah, honey milk it is. You're so predictable.  
When you sit back, you hand him the cup.  
"I hope you're not bored of honey... I've heard it does wonders!"  
"Ah, you shouldn't have!" he replies.  
"Psh, nonsense! You got to have someone taking care of that itchy throat of yours!"

He accepts your cup of milk and drinks it without minding, except for a few coughs.  
"You're sure you're well enough to attend class?" you ask.  
He nods.  
"Sure...!"  
He gets a fit again.

"Your voice sounds so hoarse, Shuichi... I doubt you're well enough."  
"I just have to be quiet then"  
"Coughing is noisy though..."  
"Then I'll soften the noise by coughing inside something..."  
"I... I'm really not sure this is a good idea you know..."  
"I just don't want to miss school, Kaede..."  
"But you're still sick! You can allow yourself a day off!"  
"I'll think about it. I have to go. See you, Kaede."  
And so he leaves, and you would have followed him if class wasn't in fifteen minutes.

You come back to your room to get your stuff ready for class.  
Today is Monday, and the classes are the worst. Plus there is this one class you're really weary of.  
You hope you learnt your paper enough to get a good grade if it ever falls on you. That teacher isn't sparing in any way.  
There is something in the corner of your mind that's telling you something bad is going to happen, but you brush it off, it must be because you're worried.  
Once in the classroom, you get your stuff out and sit down, seeing the room fill itself with your classmates. You're never that early, and only one or two of them were already here.

And, since everything is so predictable lately, your hand lands flat on your face.  
Of course.  
Of course that would happen.  
Did you really expect things to go logically right for once?

A familiar masked face with a cap on sits down next to you.  
Of fucking course.

"I told you not to come to class, Saihara Shuuchi!" you hiss to him.  
He doesn't say anything back.  
You can't consider coughing a reply anyway.

You still tap his back hoping the coughing could at least stop faster.  
It... Doesn't have the effects you expected it to have: he hisses in pain and still coughs anyway.  
Good job Kaede.

"Seriously, Shuichi, take the day off..."  
He just moves his head in a "no" between two coughs.  
"If you don't I'll have to-"  
"Akamatsu, Saihara, be quiet! Class has started!"  
The teacher seems to have noticed your chatting, and you're obligated to not add anything.  
You may be the evaluated one today.

And so really start class, and if it wasn't boring enough to study maths, you have a constant cough next to you, and and you can't even say anything.  
Drills have never been so painful to do.  
And the weekly time of evaluation happens at 9:30AM.

"Akamatsu, it's your turn."  
Of course that would happen too!  
But you're prepared. You know how to do it. Maths isn't the worst.

You go to the board, and the teacher gives you what you must calculate. Your luck is at its peak: it's the part you know the best! You focus as hard as you can and make the exercise.  
"Good work, Akamatsu. You get an A."  
You come back to your table, victorious, as Shuichi has his thumbs up for you.  
Everything is so good all of a sudden, it's suspicious.

Next class is History.  
You didn't really learn anything for today because it's oral day.  
Today is... About some samurai stuff if you're not mistaken.  
You're prepared to read again some music sheets you're still not so good at.

The first presentation is from this Ultimate Dictator guy or something.  
You still listen because you think everybody deserves a chance.  
Even if it's the sixth one you offer to them.

The second call is... What it is.  
"Saihara. Your turn." resounds a deep, deeply serious voice.  
This is going to be a complete tragedy.

He reluctantly gets up and goes to the board coughing in his mask.  
He takes it off, gets his paper on the desk and faces the class in front of the board.  
"Hum, Saihara... Are you sure you want to do this?" the teacher asks.  
"Why not...?" his voice is horribly hoarse.  
He then proceeds with his presentation, but he coughs for a few seconds every three words or so.

"Stop it, Saihara. It's going nowhere." interrupts the teacher midway through.  
"Sir... I... I can do this..."  
He gets trapped into a coughing fit beforr the teacher can add anything.  
His fit lasts and lasts and lasts, and eventually his back hits the board.  
It doesn't stop, making you scared that he'll never get to breathe again.  
He clutches his chest and you clutch your fist.  
This can't last.

You get up from your chair and go to him.  
The teacher screams "Akamatsu, Akamatsu, go back to your place!"  
"Erh, class... Since Saihara is too sick to do so, is there anyone to do a presentation in his stead?" the teacher asks, completely out of it.  
May he go fuck himself, someone has to do something more than stay there with their mouth in agape.

You take your classmates on your shoulder and start to leave the room. At least, that's what you're attempting to do, as he jerks away with a swift of his hand.  
His fit had stopped, but he's now gasping desperately and trying his hardest to get oxygen back.

"I... I'm fine..." He barely mutters while he heavily pants.  
"Bullshit. To the nurse's office you go."  
You don't even wait for an answer to drag him to the infirmary: you grab his arm and walk out with him, in front of your bewildered class.  
You can see Iruma wink at you with a familiar finger sign. You're redder than the reddest of tomatoes and leave even faster.

The way to the office is so, so long. He's shaking and still coughing, his hands can't even put back on his mask.  
You decide to do it yourself.  
"Th... Thank.."

"Shut the fuck up Saihara."

"Huh..."  
"Shut up! I don't want to hear your voice! Or what's left of it anyway!"  
You sigh and make your way there. You knock, put him on a chair and leave.

Maybe you went too far.  
Maybe he'll not forgive you.  
But at least, he wasn't speaking in that horrible, dying parody of his voice.

You go back to class, even more worried than ever.


	10. Lovesick

It's 12AM and class is over. You just have a rehearsal in the afternoon, it'll be fine.  
At the cafeteria, you see a familiar face.  
You should apologize, you're nervous about that.  
What if he really never forgives you? What if it's over?  
You sit once again in front of him, you can only hope for the best...

"Huh... Shuichi?"  
He lifts his eyes up.  
"Can... Can I talk to you?"  
He nods.

"Listen... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for yelling at you this morning."

He doesn't say anything. You continue.  
"I went too far because I didn't stand seeing you so ill... I shouldn't have raised my voice..."  
He just nods and nods... Is he even listening?

"Hey, are you paying attention?"  
You move your hand in front of his face, and he still just nods.

You're getting even more frustrated.  
"Goodbye."  
You prefer to eat with other people from the class. Maybe they'll pay attention, them.

He grabs your arm.  
You look at him, he opens his mouth.  
"C...nt... Tl.k.."

You don't understand what it means. His voice is too hoarse and deformed for that.  
"What do you mean, Shuichi?"  
"C.. Cnt.. Speak..."  
Then it hits you.

"Oh my God, I'm so, so sorry! How could I think that!"  
You hold him in your arms, your heart clutching.  
"I slipped up all day long... I'm sorry Shuichi... You don't have to deal with that mess..."  
You're almost crying when he pulls you away softly.

He shows you a small smile and writes something on his phone.  
He then shows you the screen:  
"It's alright."

You're happier than ever.  
"Thank goodness..."

He types again.  
"I'll not do it again, I promise."  
"You better do..." You mutter.

Now in an embrace, you take off his cap and sweep out of the way his bangs.

You kiss his forehead.  
And someone dabs in celebration.  
You hear hand claps and whistling.  
Also Iruma is still doing her finger signs.

You show him your own phone screen.  
"I love you."  
He replies the same way.  
"So do I."

And you hug each other tightly again.  
Who cares if people are watching, it feels like there's only him and you in this world  
"I love you so much... Heal fast so I can kiss the hell out of you.."

He nods.  
You're so reassured and happy your former sorrow is gone.  
Everything is perfect in the best of worlds.


	11. Your Tears are my Tears

You're getting ready for your first actual date.  
Your heart flutters and you're swirling around, because today is going to be the best day ever.

You planned to go to the park, stroll around, humming the flowers of late spring. The sun is shining and you've seen the weather report: not a single drop is going to fall from the sky. You're thinking about maybe hitting the mall or something if any of you feel like shopping.  
Your meeting point is in the park, as he had to go work on a small investigation he had to put on hold.

His leave for illness frustrated him to no end, but of course, you were there with a pair of handcuffs threatening him to dare go work.  
You got the handcuffs from an acquaintance of yours a while back, and they were now finally useful.  
You just wish they weren't covered in fur...

Anyway, you are there, sitting on a bench, patiently waiting for him to show up.  
In your hands, you have a surprise for him.  
You thought about picking one up when he said that he wanted one in one of his naps. The detective of the school sleeptalks, who would have thought.

Shuichi waves you hello from the entrance of the park, not too far away from where you're sitting, and you do the same back.  
He walks up to you, a smile on his face.  
He's still blushing as if he was turning into a tomato though.

"Hi, Ak... Kaede! How are you?" he asks as he sits up next to you.  
"I'm doing great, and you?"  
The miniature piano is hidden in your bag, out of his field of vision. The surprise needs to be full.

You're still hiding that your body wants to blush as much as it possibly can when he manages to call you by your first name, but there needs to be a less nerdy one in your tandem.

"So, you mind walking about the park together for the afternoon? I've heard there was a great ice cream parlor not so far away from the other side of the park! We could check it out later" you tell him, even more pumped up than before.  
"Sure, why not"

You both get up from the bench and decide to walk around the park, looking at the beautifully blue sky and the shiny green grass.  
Children are playing on the swing, and while you do think swinging with him would be adorable, it would be really awkward to do it with kids around.

You just make small talk together: you discuss rehearsals and your latest tastes in TV shows, he tells you about the latest novel he's reading (and clumsily spoils it, but you're not into mystery novels, so it's okay) and mentions a really gruesome case.  
Wait, what?  
"Shuichi, not in public! You can't mention a guy getting beheaded on a rollercoaster in a park full of kids!" you hiss at him.  
"S-sorry! I wasn't paying attention anymore!"  
What a klutz. A lovely klutz.

You put a hand on his shoulder.  
"If you wanna talk about this stuff, we can go in a... Less frequented part of the park!"  
"As in?"  
"I know a secret spot in this place, I'm sure you'll love it! Come with me!"  
You grab his wrist and take him to the other side of the park.

You both climb up to the top of a small hill and go along a small, narrow path made out of battered dirt together.  
You perfectly know what you're doing, you just hope your picnicking blanket will be enough for the both of you.

You're still in the park, but alone together.  
"See? Nobody's around. You can tell me about your beheaded man now."  
You take off you bag and put it on the ground, getting the blanket out of it.  
Once it's nicely on the ground, you wave at it.  
"If you don't mind"  
He sits down on here and you do so too. His smile is so precious.

"You know... I'm so happy to see you all right for once..." you sheeplishy say, looking at the alley down there.  
Nobody is around anyway.  
"I... Was getting worried for you..." he replies, getting his hat closer to his eyes.  
"Wait, what do you mean, Shuichi? You were the sick one"  
"It's because you seemed so scared, you looked really unhappy, and you were starting to look exhausted... I don't want you to be ill or anything...  
"Aw, that's so kind of you... But don't worry for others when you're feeling that bad, I was just taking care of you because you needed help meanwhile. Of course, I was worried and scared for you, but everything went all right."  
But, if everything would go all right... Why where you that worried? You looked sleep-deprived and all..."  
"Because it only got worse and worse! One day you were fine, two hours later your fever was rising again! You cried on my shoulder more than once because you dreamed about my death, and about yours, and about anyone in the class' deathes... I couldn't stand seeing you like that!"  
"One night, I heard you scream from my room... I rushed in there only to see you almost tear up your bedsheets as if you were possessed by a a demon... I thought the rooms were sound-proof until that night, but I was wrong, lucky for you... You woke up only to cry again and clutch me so tightly I could barely breath..."  
"I... I'm so sorry for that... I didn't mean to wake you up..."  
"Goddammit, Shuichi Saihara, would you stop apologizing for dumb reasons!"

He gets startled.  
"I thought you had understood that with what happened during all of last week... You don't need to apologize for things out of your control, Shuichi... Getting sick wasn't your fault... Your nightmares weren't your fault... Me helping you and getting consequences for it wasn't your fault... The only you were guilty of was not telling anyone about it and still pretending everything was okay, and even then, you had good intentions... Stop apologizing..."

You hug him tightly.  
"I just want you to be happy, Shuichi... Nothing more... No matter if you're sick, injured, depressed or ashamed... I'll be here for you... And even if the world turns against you... I'll be here anyway..."  
"Ka... Kaede... I... Don't what to say..."  
"Then don't... I'm sure you would do the same for me... You're just less vocal about it... You can be shy, I don't mind... I love you so much, and if you don't like yourself, I'll do so for you..."  
"I didn't mention anything about..."  
"You were gonna say 'oh, I don't deserve you', like you've been saying during your sickness, and even before... That's false... You deserve love, you deserve people who care about you and who you can trust and cry to... Everybody does..."  
You feel tears going down your cheeks.

"Why are you crying, Kaede...?"  
"Because I've been so scared for you, that you would not make it, and that you may do it again because you still hate yourself! I'm so scared you could take a fatal blow for me! I don't want you to die or get heat for anything!"  
He stayed quiet.  
"You and I know you could do this..."

You had a nightmare too on your side.  
You saw him, trapped inside a room with everyone watching, still sick, with guilty written all over the walls of a dark room.  
More exactly, it was an examination room, like in hospitals and in series about hospitals.  
You saw a weird bear, like the one he described in his own nightmares. He was wearing a nurse costume, and forcefed Shuichi a pill.  
You wish your memory was hazy, but you can still see back in details how badly he was coughing, blood spilt on the floor in unregular pattern, and the fever meter right next to him breaking far past a safe limit.  
You could actually see him take mental damage somehow, and soon enough, he was a braindead zombie vomiting blood.  
You woke up right after that.

"Kaede? Kaede? Is anything wrong?"

You're breaking out of your thoughts, now laying on the blanket with him watching over you.  
"What happened...?"  
"I don't know!" he replies. "But you zoned out crying and I got really scared..."

He's mindlessly playing with your hair.  
"What's wrong? You seem so shaken up..."  
"It's because I... I remember a nightmare I had.. Where you died horribly.. And... And..."  
You're getting sobs trapped in your throat.  
"Don't think about it Kaede... I'm here, sound and safe..."

He gives you a hand, and you sit up next to him.  
"What about this ice cream parlor you mentioned earlier?" he asks.  
"Man I would die for an ice cream right now!"  
"Then let's go!"  
He gets up and, once again, gives you his hand that you happily grab to get up.

Soon enough, you're walking towards the parlor, and it's only a few minutes later that you notice you were holding hands.  
You don't mind at all, it even makes you happier than ever.

"You're so red I would almost say you have a fever again!" you chuckle, amused.  
"I-I swear it's not a fever! Don't worry!" he replies.  
You laugh again.

He tries to use his hat as a hiding grace, but it doesn't make him hide all of his blush.  
"Psh, it's okay Shuichi! You're my adorable dork!"  
"T-t-t-thanks..."

You arrive at the parlor together, and you show your fidelity card because you're liking these ice creams that much.  
"Oh, Miss Akamatsu, how may I help you?"  
"Get me a strawberry milkshake, and, huh... What do you want Shuichi?"  
"Huh... A vanilla cone please..."

The vendor looks at you, smiling.  
"I'll get you this! You know the drill, Miss Akamatsu..."  
"Of course!"  
Knowing the prices by heart, you pay the exact amount needed.

"Hey, huh, Kaede..." he whispers to you.  
"Hmm?"  
He has his wallet in his hands.  
"You paid for me, I need to give it back to you..."  
"Nah, keep your money, I'm paying it for you!"  
"T-thanks..."

The vendor looks at the both of you with smiling eyes.  
"Are you two dating?"  
"Yes!"  
"No"

You look at each other.  
"N-not yet at least..." he stutters.

The vendor looks at the Ultimate Detective.  
"Hey, my dude, if ya wanna get Miss Akamatsu you'll have to act quickly, cuz I'm sure a ton of other dudes want to date her lovely person!"  
He's getting all red again and so are you, honestly.  
You get your order and leave for the park again, where you find a bench in a calm spot.  
You give him back his cone as you start on attacking your milkshake.  
"We... We're not dating yet, right?" he timidly asks.  
"Yet is the key word!"

He looks down to his feet.  
"K-Kaede... I-I know it's early, and that... Uh..."  
"Shuichi, would you date me?"

He looks up at you, stars in his eyes, almost dropping his cone doing so.  
"Of course I would!"

You grin as if the world was going to end tomorrow.  
"Then, we're officially boyfriend and girlfriend! Isn't it amazing!"  
He looks away, blushing again.  
"Y-yeah..."

Once you're finished with your ice creams, you try to get closer to him, to which he doesn't seem to mind.  
"Hey, you have something on your mouth..." you say.  
"I-I do?"  
"Yep!"  
You take off his cap, hide it on front of your faces and kiss him.

You break it off slowly, just so you can see his flustered face and wide-opened eyes.  
You giggle.  
"K-Kaede... I... Huh... I..."  
"Hmm?"  
He pulls you in another kiss, that you give back of course.

"I'm surprised you got brave enough to do it! Good job!"  
"T-t-t-t-thanks...!"

"Oh, by the way, I have another gift for you!"  
"I-it's too much Kaede..."  
"Nah, it's never too much!"

He takes it slowly into his hand, admiring it with sparkles in his eyes.  
"It... It's lovely... Thank you so much Kaede..."

You're exstatic and butterflies invaded your stomach.  
You hold his hands.  
"Let's stay together until the end, alright?"  
"All right."

You can see the clocktower from here, raising into the blue sky, as you silently thank it for everything it permitted.


End file.
